In the quiet of his classroom, 10-year-old J. often finds his thoughts drifting back to the early morning of that November day when immigration agents stormed his family’s apartment in East Elmhurst, Queens. The memory of that day continues to cast a long shadow over his young life, affecting his ability to focus and feel safe.
The day that changed everything
At 5:30 a.m., the family’s peaceful morning was shattered by the sound of ICE agents knocking on their door. When J.’s mother, Jennifer, did not immediately open the door, the agents used a machine to break it down, a sound J. remembers as ‘Da-da-da-da-da.’ The agents called his mother a derogatory term and questioned her, leaving the family traumatized. The entire encounter lasted less than two hours, but its impact has been enduring.
J. recalls his mother shouting at the agents, ‘Why are you hitting me?’ and the fear he felt as he and his older sister attempted to protect their mother by filming the event. In response, the agents pointed a gun at J. and told him to raise his hands. The family’s lawyer later assured them that ICE was unlikely to return, but the emotional scars remained.
The broader impact on children’s mental health
The psychological effects of such encounters are not isolated incidents. Across the United States, researchers and educators have documented the adverse impact of increased immigration enforcement on the mental health of children. A national survey conducted by EdWeek found that 57% of educators have seen students express fear or anxiety related to the federal government’s immigration crackdown. The New England Journal of Medicine has also highlighted how pervasive immigration enforcement can impact children’s physical and emotional development.
Susana Beltrán-Grimm, an assistant professor of applied developmental psychology and education at Portland State University, has been studying the effects of parental stress due to immigration enforcement on children. She notes that children often absorb their parents’ stressors, taking on an almost adult role. ‘There’s going to be drastic consequences,’ she warns, emphasizing the long-term ramifications on generations to come.
A family’s journey to healing
Jennifer and her husband Rigoberto met in 2012 in Queens and have since built a life together with their three children. The family was active in their community, attending church and participating in local events. Just two weeks before the ICE raid, they had celebrated at a Dia de Los Muertos event at the Queens Museum, where organizers were distributing immigration rights resources. Rigoberto admitted that he had ignored those flyers, never imagining that his family would be affected.
In the weeks following the raid, the family spent a month in a hotel, fearing that ICE would return. Even after they moved back home, the trauma lingered. Jennifer’s older children would wake up in the middle of the night, shaken by nightmares of ICE taking away their parents. J. would sometimes struggle to focus in school, overwhelmed by worry for his mother. His teacher provided support by taking him for walks or offering snacks, and sometimes calling his mother to reassure him.
To help their children cope, Jennifer and Rigoberto filled their schedules with activities like soccer practice and mariachi band rehearsals. J., who plays the trumpet and sings in the band, hopes to perform his favorite song, ‘El Rey,’ again soon. While he still feels a little scared when someone knocks on their door in the evening, he is slowly healing. ‘I feel good now because my memory [of the event] is like going away,’ he said.
The family’s experience underscores the urgent need for culturally responsive care to address the trauma and chronic stress faced by immigrant families. Psychologists at the American Psychological Association have called for more resources to support these communities, highlighting the heightened risk of mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
